Three weeks old

Olivia turns three weeks old. Everyone says she is starting to look more like Benny and less like me. Is it true?

Bathtime!

Olivia had her first bath on March 16 and hated it. The second time, she cried less. Last night she acted like she actually enjoyed it. Or at least she didn't hate it. She gave us a face that said "I've been here before and cried yet they keep doing this water thing to me. I guess I have to learn to like it."

Last week, we spent a day at Ryukyu Mura, a cultural park that highlights the food, traditional dress, music and history of Okinawa. It's an easy way to learn a lot about Okinawa in a short amount of time.

Olivia was a wonderful baby the entire day. We carried her in the peanut shell (the brown sling) and she relaxed in her little mobile hammock. Every two hours she would wake up and I would feed her. She slept and ate right through the entertainment.

Olivia was a bit of a show stopper herself. The Japanese tourists would stop and stare at her. They would ask how old she was, who was the mother (this tells you how young my mom looks) and be shocked to learn that Olivia was only a few days old. In Japan, mother and baby stay in the hospital for seven to 10 days and babies don't leave their homes for the first three months of life. So seeing a newborn out in public is a rare treat.

The weather was sunny and warm. March is the perfect time to visit Okinawa. It's the only month when it's not too hot and humid, but doesn't have constant rain.

Picking out a fortune for Olivia


Tying the fortune on a historic house



Playing the Okinawa guitar


After lunch cat nap

Eureka Moment #4

On the drive home today, Michelle dropped her wallet on the floor of the car. Without hesitation, she asked me (Benny) to pick it up (like she had for everything else that was on the floor the last 4 months).

Then she realized that her belly no longer gets in the way, and she could pick it up herself. She grinned as she picked up her wallet with that twinkle in her eye that cried out "I can bend over again, yipee!!!"

This eureka moment was brought to you by Benny.

Two weeks old

Olivia is now two weeks old. She had her first doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Our little girl passed with flying colors.

Eureka Moment #3 (but I can't remember what 1 and 2 were-but I do remember they occurred)

Driving home from dinner tonight, Benny had a eureka moment.

"We are the parents, so we get to make the rules."

Not that Olivia would really follow any rule about minimizing the length of her early morning wake up calls. But hey, Congress makes useless laws sometimes too.

How to tell if Olivia is hungry...

Definitely has Dad's sense of humor

At least Olivia thinks she is funny.

Since Olivia's umbilical stump fell off a few days ago, we've started using cloth diapers.

The first try was the bumkins cloth diapers on Wednesday, but these looked a wee big for our little munchkin. It almost looked like she was a boxer with her shorts pulled way above her belly button.

Olivia didn't take to them well, but we did subject her to a few changes on Wednesday. There was the full day of fun on Tuesday at Ryuku Mura, so she could have been tired.

Take two: Benny puts on a prefold diaper and puts on the "waterproof" cover. Unfortunately the diaper wasn't folded correctly and the excess stuck out more than a Packers fan at the Metrodome.

After a quick review on youtube, we went with the "bikini twist". This where Olivia gets funny...

Less than one minute after putting the diaper on her, she proceeded to expel some gas and fill her britches. So Dad thought he'd wait a few minutes to see if there as a second round coming... no aftershocks... so Dad changes her diaper. No more than two minutes after the second prefold is put on, she proceeds to fill that one too! Allright, this time we're going to wait five minutes before changing. And that is the game we've been playing ever since. Daddy tries to do the right thing with an immediate changing, but apparently Olivia likes to fill her britches in cycles (as once every few minutes for a total of four times in 20 minutes).

We have evidence of our little princess caught in the act, but you have to promise not to tell Great Grandma Kann! As you can see, there is no remorse--listen closely.

Lady McVolkmann says

HAPPY ST PATTY'S DAY!!!!

One week old

Today was a big day for Olivia. Besides being able to wear her polka-dotted dress for a second time (she also wore it home from the hospital), she attend her first church service. Sure, she ate breakfast during the majority of it, but she was there. Afterwards she was the center of attention. All these ladies who had watched my belly grow for the last five months couldn't wait to get their hands on her. As usual, Olivia was a charmer, being the quietest baby for them. If only she was so sweet when it's just the two of us.

Olivia's first visitor

After 17 hours of traveling, my mom touched down in Okinawa Saturday night. We were a little late picking her up, but luckily we came in the side door and were able to surprise her with a sign and flowers. Olivia was so excited to meet Grandma. Her contribution to the celebration? A dirty diaper.

Olivia's Maiden Voyage

So we set sail on Olivia's first outing... it was a windy day and the stroller acted like a sail at times (not requiring any effort on Mom or Dad's part - just maintaining the course). But Olivia took it in stride and walked away without any seasickness or sealegs.



We caught up to Ms. Olivia afterwards to get her reaction to all the action (planes, jets, helicopters, howling wind, etc.)

Dear Virginia Beach:

So for the first night at the hospital, Benny slept in coach (aka the blue chair). There was a video to document the eureka moment when he realized the chair fully reclined instead of the mandatory coach limitation of only 2 inches back (but it was too dark and it didn't turn out).


That blue chair you ask about in the background at the hospital was a prototype used for specialized torturing for new dads. Darn near the most uncomfortable chair you've ever slept in... but I'd still take it over flying coach with a bulkhead in front of you.

Olivia's First 24 Hours of Life

Since I pushed Olivia out, Benny is stuck with diaper duty.


My favorite way to hold Olivia.


Benny is such a proud papa.

Home from the hospital

Olivia and I were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. I'm so glad to be out in the real world again. I was missing fresh air and sunshine. Of course, there are tons of things I want to write about -- mostly the funny details of her birth story. Thanks for the well wishes, phone calls and emails about her birth. It warms my heart to think about people all over the globe saying a special prayer for our little one as she greeted us.

More to come in the future. For now, I'll tease you with photos of her homecoming. Check back often for more videos and postings.

The V-Team Expansion Draft has come to a close

This just in from the Camp Lester Naval Hospital Postpartum department: Negotiations (labor) started at 0700 on Saturday, March 7 (Okinawa time) at the V-Team HQ, before they were moved to the 5th floor of the Camp Lester Naval Hospital (Labor and Delivery) at 2300 on March 7. At 0200 on March 8, the negotiations became more and more intense as the key V-Team consultants (doctors) decided it was time to make a splash (break the water).

Eventually Olivia Lydia was drafted and signed to an unprecedented 18-year (actual $$ not released) contract by the V-Team at 0500 on March 8 (Okinawa time). This southpaw weighs in at a 7 pounds 9.25 ounces, with the "huge" stature of her father at 20.5 inches long. Drafted for her cuddling cuteness, fierce negotiating abilities, and oohing and ahhhing skills, Olivia can melt the hearts of the fiercest of competitors with her blue eyes. Olivia will start on the V-Team farm team in Okinawa in order to allow time to develop her brown locks.

The baby's agent and V-Team Co-Captain, Momma Volkmann, is doing well and is expected to be retuning home on Tuesday to finish recovering at home (and in time to watch the conference championships in prepartation of March Madness (no kidding, I did not put those words into her mouth). We look forward to the rest of spring training, and the debut of Olivia's rookie season as part of the V-Team. We're also looking forward to our own 2009 rookie season as new parents.

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes,
Benny, Michelle and Olivia

Prego bellies in downward dog

I was lucky enough to become pregnant when I was in the best shape of my life. In fact I ran a 5K (which is a challenge for me) when I was 5 weeks pregnant. I didn't know I was pregnant at the time, so I'm even more amazed that I was able to achieve that goal.

For the last nine months, I've worked to stay healthy while eating for two. One of my saving graces has been prenatal yoga.

At first I laughed at the idea of prenatal yoga because I thought pre-natal meant wimpy. Not the type of workout that I wanted during my lunch hour. But after fighting off the world's worst cold in December and sick of not being able to do all the cool stuff in my power yoga class due to my growing belly, I decided to give prenatal yoga a shot.

I remember the conversation Benny and I had the night before my first class. "If it's a bunch of ladies laying there rubbing their bellies and talking about eating ice cream, you aren't going back," Benny said. Even though belly rubbing while talking about 31 flavors sounded like the best thing for me at the time, I had to agree.

I remember my apprehension for the first class. And then getting my butt kicked by a lady with a belly twice as large as mine. This class wasn't exactly what power yoga was, but it was challenging in its own right. It wasn't a joke. The yoga poses focus on the parts of the woman's body that need to "open" and be strong for labor and delivery. I liked focusing on these body parts and developing the mental and breathing techniques for the delivery.

Since then I've attended nearly every prenatal yoga. And today was my last class. I started as one of the women who you couldn't even tell was pregnant (the instructor first told me I was in the wrong class) to being the yogi regular. I have the biggest belly and the fact that I'm 41 weeks pregnant, I'm the "oldest" belly in the room.

But besides being a physical class, prenatal yoga is also a support group for pregnant women. We share our stories. We laugh at ourselves when we can't find our balance. And we compliment each other on getting the energy to come to class each week. For the last two weeks, these ladies have given me all kinds of advice on natural methods to trigger delivery. Without prenatal yoga during my baby-free maternity leave, I don't think I would have been able to stay calm.

I love the women in that class. I adore the instructor. I'm sad that once Baby V exits my body, I'll say farewell to my specialized yoga instruction.

I'm just hoping I can start attending the baby yoga class offered on island. I think Baby V will be a natural. Afterall he/she has been doing yoga since before his/her birth.

Viking Invasion

As everyone knows the V-Team lives in a house divided. I'm a Packers fan and Benny is a Vikings fan. And on most days of the year we are able to put our differences aside. There are only three days a year that are truly challenging for our marriage: the two regular season games and that occasional playoff match between Green Bay and Minnesota.

For years we have talked about constructing a rotating trophy that will proclaim the winner each season. I used to crow about that when the Packers were winning. Now that the Vikings won the last game between these two teams, I haven't brought it up. On the other hand, Benny displays his Vikings scarf as a trophy in the foyer of our home.

I told him to take it down after the Super Bowl. The football season is over. It's time to start fresh. Yet, the scarf remains there tauting me every time I come home.

Then last week we received a baby gift from our friends, Andy and Alicia. Andy, like Benny, is from Minnesota and is a Vikings fan. And Alicia, like me is from Iowa. But she is, sadly, not a Packers fan. But she is able to make blankets and she made the blanket (picture below) for Baby Volkmann.



I can't flip it over because the backside is even worse: It's the Iowa Hawkeyes.

March flies in like a swallow

Okinawa is the Florida of Japan, so it isn't surprising that eight Japanese professional baseball teams and three Korean teams were on island for spring team during the month of February.

I first heard about spring training last year from some of my co-workers. So attending spring training has been on my Okinawa Must Do List since August 2008.

Oh, for those who don't know, I love baseball and it has been my dream since I was a child to live in a city with a professional baseball team so I could regularly attend games. Ideally this city would be Chicago and I would have season tickets to the Cubs.

Benny and I try to go to a few baseball games a year, which is more difficult since we are now living in Japan. Last summer we went to Wrigley Field with my parents when we were in the States for a short visit. In Yuma, we cheered for Yuma's minor league team. When Benny was in Iraq two years ago, I went to L.A. Dodgers Opening Day with three female friends from Port Hueneme.

For the last month, I've wanted to go to a Japanese baseball game, but I haven't because:

1) It's been hot and humid and I'm already hot, so I don't want to be outside without air conditioning

2) I thought I might have the baby at any moment, so I didn't want to risk my water breaking during the 7th inning stretch

3) I'm pregnant and sleepy, so taking a nap is much more appealing on most days than spending the afternoon sitting on hard bleachers.

On Sunday though, the weather was comfortable and cloudy. Perfect weather for me. And I had become a bit stir-crazy from spending the past week at the house waiting for Baby V to arrive. I checked online and found that there were two games on Sunday afternoon, one in Nago (which is more than a hour drive away) and another in Naha (which is only a 30 minute drive).

I packed us a lunch and told Benny that spring training was over so we were going to a Season Opening Game, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs. Yokohama Bay Stars at Urasoe Baseball Field near Naha.



I would have rather seen the Nippon Ham Fighters play because I think the mascot "Ham Fighter" is hilarious. But they were playing in Nago and I didn't want to travel that far.




We found the stadium with no problem, but it wasn't the usual American baseball experience. Parking was free. Beer was 200 yen, less than $3 a glass. You could bring a cooler of food into the stadium and most families did. Food was sold at the stadium, but you needed to eat it with the aid of chopsticks. No hot dogs or hamburgers. Players sprinted to their positions. The player's legs were normal sized, not huge, so I don't think there is a steroid scandal here. And the last time I saw numerous bunts was during my high school softball game.

We sat on the Bay Stars side. The cheering was intense, especially when your team was up to bat. It took us some time to be able to read the score board, but we finally figured it out. It was a fun detective project for us on Sunday afternoon.


We're still debating what they are saying in the chants that we heard over and over every inning.
Michelle votes: "It's ok; Yes we can; something something something"
Benny votes: same as Michelle


Kids went nuts for the Bay Stars mascot, we think the kids called him "Hoshi". You should have seen it when they shot t-shirts into the crowd (sorry, no video).



The biggest cultural difference from American baseball was watching a player's reaction after he hit a homerun to tie the game in the top of 9th inning. The crowd chanted his name as he ran to his position in left field. He covered his face with his glove to conceal the embarrassment of all the attention. He kept trying to persuade the crowd to stop cheering, as if it was no big deal.

That home run in the top of the ninth ended up being negated with the home team scoring in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

Benny's baseball firsts:
1. Benny had the height advantage (for once) and could have easily caught the t-shirt shot into the stands by Hoshi that landed two seats next to us. But Benny was a good sport and let the little boy catch the kids size small t-shirt.
2. A line drive foul ball came right at us, no kidding. Just over Benny's head. Benny's hand was going up to catch it, but he felt myself falling backwards off the bleacher as Michelle dove for cover. It all went in slow motion, and tipped off his middle finger... into the stands behind us. If he was only 8 years old and still brought his glove to the game, I would have had it.
3. Benny picked the Bay Stars as his team, since that was the side we sat on. On the way out, we paid 200 yen to reach into a box and pick a number, 1 to to 4, corresponding to a prize. Michelle went first and got a 4, the token prize that everyone was getting, a hands free cell phone lanyard with earpiece that conforms to the Japanese cell phone driving law. When Benny pulled out a 2, the crowd let out a "ooooooooooooooooooh" as he was handed a Yakult Swallows jersey! He jumped up and down in excitment, it was a great day.
5. Benny speaking: We went to opening day on a spontaneous decision, not having any idea it was Opening Day until Michelle told Benny 15 minutes before we left. Michelle confirmed her selection as Wife of the Year for 2009!